Plug Mayo into motorway network, say business leaders in Claremorris

Mayo Advertiser, Mon, Sep 25, 2017

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Claremorris Chamber of Commerce has called on the Government to sanction the planned motorway between Galway and Mayo in its forthcoming capital spending plan. Ahead of the opening of the €550 million Gort-Tuam motorway, the business group said plugging Mayo into the motorway network would be a huge boost for regional development.

"The original plan was to build the motorway from Gort to Claremorris", said spokesman Jimmy Flynn. "Five routes were identified. One was selected. With Gort-Tuam open, and an extra €4 billion for capital spending, funding is not a problem, so the CPOs for the preferred route from Tuam to Claremorris should be issued right away. One short stretch from there to the N5, links Castlebar and Westport to the motorway network."

The Government has pledged an Atlantic Economic Corridor to enable the west to catch up the east. With the Cork-Limerick motorway a national priority, a three-city region - Cork, Limerick, Galway - is taking shape. Extending the motorway from Galway, first to Mayo and then to Sligo, pulls in the west and north-west, and puts an all-island, post-Brexit economy within reach. Claremorris Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Government to ensure the west and north-west regions get a fair share of the spend from the capital plan due by year-end.